STEEL SCRAP WRAP: Turkish mills return to deep-sea markets after two weeks

• Turkish mills return to the market for two Baltic Sea cargoes
• US East Coast quiet on Turkey’s absence
• Vietnamese buyers book Japanese scrap on dipping offers
• Taiwanese import prices down on weaker demand, bearish sellers.

Turkey
The Turkish steel producers broke their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets on September 25 after two weeks with no deals, securing two Baltic Sea cargoes.

These deals put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price for Baltic Sea-origin material at $296 per tonne cfr, compared with deals done at $301 per tonne cfr on September 9.

Market participants, however, were still unsure whether the mills had fully returned to the market, Fastmarkets was told.

“I don’t see strong demand from the Turkish steel mills. The mill that booked the Baltic Sea cargoes might be short of raw materials and had to book. We should see more deals before we say that scrap bookings have restarted,” a trading source said.

Pricing history
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey.
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), US origin, cfr Turkey.

United States
The United States’ East Coast ferrous scrap export market remained silent this week, with the Turkish steelmakers not trading, while recyclers at the docks were busy filling previously committed sales to the Middle Eastern country.

Pricing history
steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob New York.
steel scrap shredded scrap, export index, fob New York.
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob Los Angeles.

Vietnam
Vietnamese steel mills booked Japanese scrap this week after suppliers reduced their offer prices in an attempt to offload material before China’s Golden Week national holiday on October 1-8.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam.

Taiwan
Import prices for containerized ferrous scrap in Taiwan fell this week on increasingly bearish sentiment, created by falling prices in Turkey and soft demand.

Pricing history
steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan.

India
The price of shredded scrap imported into India continued to move down this week due to Turkey’s absence from the deep-sea markets, leading many to expect a downturn in prices.

Pricing history
steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India.

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